Top 355 Quotes & Sayings by Charles R. Swindoll - Page 5

Because the Holy Spirit is God, we feel Him as He controls our circumstances and transforms our lives. When He does that, He uses us. He melts us in relationships. He molds us in the pursuit and the direction of His will. He fills us with power and the perseverance to keep at it. He uses as He controls our circumstances and transforms our lives. Ask the Spirit of God to use you, just as you are, with the gifts and abilities that He's given you. Secure in the confidence that God is in control of your life, you will be free to serve Him with joy and effectiveness.

God's forgiveness extends to the worst offenders and to anyone who wishes to receive it-not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

Who can ever measure the benefit of a mother's inspiration?

When you pray, pray so that you may know Him. When you seek to simplify, do it as a means of knowing Him more. When you surrender, or behave with humility or sacrifice, do it with the sole purpose in mind to know Him.

It has come to the time where the most dangerous place to be in America is not the inner city, where gangs threaten innocent lives, or in angry prisons, where only the fit survive, but in the womb of a mother who is being told that if she doesn't really want the baby, an abortion is the solution.

When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you're right in the center of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.

Worry and faith just don't mix.

I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude... When my attitudes are right theres no challenge too great for me.

When God's in it, the job gets done.

Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.

If God awarded us medals, as they do in the Olympics, love would win the gold, joy the silver, and peace the bronze.

The decision to give ourselves to others is a daily taking up of the cross.

The happiest people I know are the ones who have learned how to hold everything loosely and have given the worrisome, stress-filled, fearful details of their lives into God's keeping.

Precious few are those who can live in the lap of luxury ... who can keep their moral, spiritual and financial equilibrium ... while balancing on the elevated tightrope of success. ... there is about one in a hundred who can dance to the tune of success without paying the piper named Compromise.

Some folks serve the almighty dollar far more faithfully than the Almighty God. They get greater delight out of balancing the budget than watching the Lord multiply the loaves and fishes.

Anyone who influences others is a leader.

At least one indication of unbelief is the tendency to measure life's challenges against our own adequacy instead of God's promises. To enter our Sabbath rest, we must put an end to self-reliance - trusting in our own abilities to overcome difficulties, rise above challenges, escape tragedies, or achieve personal greatness.

We are in charge of our attitudes.

If you want to be a person with a large vision, you must cultivate the habit of doing the little things well.

Our great tendency in this age is to increase our speed, to run faster, even in the Christian life. In the process our walk with God stays shallow, and our tank runs low on fumes. Intimacy offers a full tank of fuel that can only be found by pulling up closer to God, which requires taking necessary time and going to the effort to make that happen.

Fortunately Jesus didn't leave [the disciples]-or any of us-without hope or direction. Where we fail, Jesus succeeded. The only One who as able to recognize and follow His purpose from the beginning was Jesus. He alone was able to obey consistently and please God completely. And His divine mission was to make a way for each of us to do the same.

Real integrity stays in place whether the test in adversity or prosperity.

There is only one you. God wanted you to be you. Don't you dare change just because you're outnumbered!

When we have God in clear focus, His powerful presence eclipses our fear.

If the pace and the push, the noise and the crowds are getting to you, it's time to stop the nonsense and find a place of solace to refresh your spirit

Jesus' plan called for action, and how He expressed it predicted its success. He didn't say "you 'might' be my witnesses," or "you 'could' be my witnesses," or even "you 'should' be my witnesses." He said "you 'WILL' be my witnesses.

Part of the thrill of guiding children into adulthood is the release. But it's also a parent's greatest act of surrender. Still, you have to let them go. Start now.

First impressions never have a second chance.

Go God's way! His is the most reliable route to follow when life gets complicated. It will have its tough moments, but you will never regret it.

Two words will help you cope when you run low on hope: accept and trust.

One essential ingredient for being an original in the day of copies is courageous vision.

Our identity as Christians is strengthened as we stand in the lengthening shadows of saints down through the centuries, who have always answered back in antiphonal voice: 'He is risen, indeed!'

Hope doesn't require a massive chain where heavy links of logic hold it together. A thin wire will do...just strong enough to get us through the night until the winds die down.

With vision there is no room to be frightened. No reason for intimidation. It's time to march forward! Let's be confident and positive!

Peter must have thought, "Who am I compared to Mr. Faithfulness (John)?" But Jesus clarified the issue. John was responsible for John. Peter was responsible for Peter. And each had only one command to heed: "Follow Me." (John 21:20-22)

In spite of the extent to which Solomon went to find happiness, because he left God out of the picture, nothing satisfied. It never will. Satisfaction in life will never occur until there is a meaningful connection with the living Lord above the sun.

Convictions are a matter of choice, not force.

Ours is a bad, bad world, but does that mean nothing's good? Does it mean we have run out of things for which to be grateful? No, no, a thousand times, no!

Anxious. Intriguing word. It literally means, "to be divided" or "distracted." It conveys the idea of being so mentally ill at ease that you cannot do what you need to do because you are so distracted in your thinking.

God presents the Sabbath rest as a shelter we can enter. (Hebrews 4:1-11)

God's timing is always on time.

Wisdom is looking at life from God's point of view. You look at life's difficulties and tests as God looks at them. You look at family life and child rearing as God looks at them. You interpret current events as God would interpret them. You see the truth even though all around you are deception and lies.

You and I can become so dedicated to the will of God, we can be so driven by a false sense of purpose, that we might inadvertently take matters into our own hands and leave God completely out of the loop.

How important is the heart! It is there that character is formed. It alone holds the secrets of true success. It's treasures are priceless - but they can be stolen.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent of how I react to it. And so it is with you. we are in charge of our attitudes.

Give us an intense distaste for things that displease You and a renewed pleasure in things that bring You honor and magnify Your truth.

Like sin itself, Satan appeals to the senses. He originated and perfected the art of disguising evil as good.

Leadership is influence. To the extent we influence others, we lead them.

Wouldn't you like to contribute to an event that is part of Christ's own prediction, "I will build my church"?

An anniversary says, "Think of the dreams you have weathered together. They are intimate accomplishments."

God's word is tailor-made for gray-slush days. It sends a beam of light through the fog. It signals safety when we fear we'll never make it through.

It is a pity that many Christians have the TV schedule better memorized than a single chapter for God's precious Word.

Faith itself cannot accomplish anything, yet without faith, no one can fly.

Only grace-large doses, frequently displayed, released-will restore the wounded.

Only you can determine your choice of attitude. Choose wisely, choose carefully, choose confidently!

We gain the ability to rejoice under pressure through a carefully monitored training program directed by the Lord Himself.

Our minds can be kept free of anxiety as we dump the load of our cares on the Lord in prayer.

In the wilderness, God's covenant people struggled with a choice between feeding their bellies and nourishing their souls. God provided manna-a breadlike food that fell to the ground during the night-to sustain the wandering Israelites and to teach them how to value His Word more than physical fulfillment.

If our perfect Lord is gracious enough to take our worst, and ugliest, our most boring, our least successful, and forgive them, burying them in the depths of the sea, then it's high time we give each other a break.

Joy is a deeply felt contentment that transcends difficult circumstances and derives maximum enjoyment from every good experience.